Ace
could get metaphysical about it and say something about how fire
loves steel, but frankly it's no more than that the swordsman's hot
and he himself is horny. The cook's watching, and that's even more of
a turn on. He likes the risk. He likes the danger. He likes his
tongue in the swordsman's mouth and the feeling of the swordsman's
buttocks under his fingers, tight and muscled, and the swordsman
trying to not act like he's being turned on, trying to stay all cold
and impassive, and totally failing.

Ace thinks it's cute. He
knows the score, the swordsman knows the score, and that's just the
way he likes it. He's never had a thing for innocents: he'd rather be
gallant in their general direction. But someone like this, trying to
hide the fire and totally failing, is perfect. It's idle, it's
frivolous, it's a good way to work off tension, and hopefully he
won't fall asleep in the middle of it all.

Well, he only did
that once. And it was being kind of boring. And he really didn't see
why the other guy got so offended.

The cook's sitting at the
end of the bar and biting on his cigarette. Ace gets the feeling that
he's horning in (ha ha) on some private territory here, and he would
apologise if not for (a) that the swordsman hadn't said anything
about his ass being private territory, (b) his tongue being in the
swordsman's mouth right at this precise moment and kind of occupied
after that moment too.

Besides, the cook had made the
cocktails. If a man makes cocktails, he's got to accept people having
sex in front of him. Ace thinks this rule is very important and ought
to be put up in every bar in the world. It'd make his life a lot
easier.

The swordsman's melting like hot wax now and has got
his arms fastened tightly round Ace and it's a good thing that Ace is
a strong man, because he likes his vertebrae where they are.

Well,
he's supposed to be bunking down in the galley anyhow, since the
ship's a small ship, and the cook isn't going anywhere. He's just
standing there and very obviously not watching in a way that means he
is watching. Perhaps he's hoping that Ace'll get nervous and have
performance anxiety.

Pity for him that Ace has absolutely no
problem with an audience.

The swordsman's past caring.

Later,
Ace'll blame the wine for not being able to fuck the cook as well,
and he'll apologise for it.

"Think nothing of it,"
the cook says, and hammers several knives into the quivering joint in
front of him in a very pointed way.

"Gnngh," the
swordsman says, and starts snoring.

---

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